Things to See & Do
Things to See
El Teide
From the parking lot tourists are brought on the volcano by a cable lift which ends at 3550m. To climb the top a special permission is necessary, which can easily be obtained at the island’s capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is worth checking if the cable car is operational before you set off, as it does not run in poor weather conditions. From the top there is an amazing view all over the island. Climbing the top is a hard effort, although the difference is less than 200 metres, but the air is extremely thin. A cold wind fights against the hot sun, which is always there because you are above the clouds!
This adds a lot of natural beauty as well as sport to the island. It also gives you that wonderful option during ‘winter’, when you find days where you can drive to the mountain and have a snow fight, return to the south and sun bathe in the sun, swim in the sea, all in the space of two hours.
Warning: No matter how hot it is on the beaches below, a trip to Teide or even just the National Park can be very cold, and in winter can even mean a few feet of snow and an ice cold wind blowing so take some warm clothes.
Drives
There are some wonderful drives all around the island. There are long winding mountain roads with breathtaking scenery.
Cycling is hard to do casually although bikes are available to rent, the coastal roads are busy and there is little room for bikes except often in the gutter. However if you like cycling up hills there are plenty of steep roads to climb as soon as you leave the coastline. For those less fit, one tour company offers a car trip to the top of El Teide with a cycle down, no peddling required.
Karting Club Tenerife - Go carts and motor bikes are raced in the main track and two sizes of cart on the kit track. Located close to Playa de las Américas free bus service from and back to your hotel.
Parks
There are good attraction parks, Loro Parque for instance, in just outside the northern city of Puerto de la Cruz, which is an animal protection foundation as well as a huge animal park. Jungle Park close to the area of Los Cristianos is well worth a visit, the bird of prey show is a must. There are free bus links to the park, but getting on one to get back is not much fun!
Things to Do
Tenerife is a favoured destination for scuba divers, with numerous dive operations of all qualities and nationalities. The waters round the island are diveable throughout the year, with the temperature varying between 18 degrees in January to around 25-26 degrees in August.
Water sports are available in the south including surfing, wind surfing, speed boat parashooting and jet-ski. Nowhere seems to rent canoes.
Santa Cruz has a big market by the station on Sunday mornings. Las Americas has one Thursday and Saturday and Los Cristianos on Sundays.
Santa Cruz has a number of museums and an art gallery. Also a space museum and planetarium on a small scale near La Laguna.
Barranco del Infierno is Hell’s Ravine, close to Adeje popular with hikers, you need to book to go on the walk. There is little to see but vegetation on this walk and a TINY waterfall at it´s end.
The most western point is Punto del Teno with excellent views.
Of course many visitors just want to spend their time on a beach or by the hotel swimming pool. Playa Americas beach is black volcanic sand but Los Cristianos is yellow imported sand. The black sand feels the same as the yellow but is not as pleasing to look at to many. Beaches often have sun-loungers with parasols available to hire for the day, but if you are doing this for a few days it is probably better to just buy a parasol and some beach mats.
February there is a huge fancy dress parade by locals which is said to be third in size after Rio and Notting Hill carnivals.
Tenerife is an excellent destination for hiking. There are routes for anyone, from leisurely one hour strolls to extremely strenuous full day hikes in demanding terrain with either a huge ascent, descent or both. There are several books describing hiking routes, such as two Landscapes of Tenerife books from Sunflower Books, one covering the northern side and the other covering the southern side. It’s a good idea to get a guide book before you go to Tenerife, as they might be difficult to find there.
Visit the beautiful old towns of La Orotava and La Laguna, the latter being a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Visit the world class botanical garden just above Puerto de la Cruz.
